Sorrento - Southern Italy

Sorrento Travel Blog

This trip was an optional busabout add-on...but really it was too good to miss! Our first stop was at Pompeii, a town that was covered by 7 metres of volcanic ash in 79AD and remained that way until the mid 1700s!! Can you get more fascinating than that?! I mean bodies of people covering their mouths still preserved, bars and bakeries and the old town streets. In fact, after Vesuvius erupted, the coastline was extended 2km! Sorry, Im drooling about volcanoes again! We then went to our Sorrento accommodation - camping in tents!! We did a town orientation walk and got to sample the local specialty of Limoncello, which is potent lemon alcohol, but still very nice and refreshing! We also had a 3 course meal including Tiramisu that night.

The town square in Sorrento - very patriotic!

Early the next morning we headed out to the Island of Capri and got a little row boat into The Blue Grotto!!! As this is a national park, you are not meant to swim....but who could say 'no' to three girls in bikini's. This was such a highlight as it was the most amazingly blue water I have possibly ever seen and to swim in it was beautiful. We got to do it for free, although other groups were going to be charged $50!!! The entrance to the cave was another highlight...the entrance is only about 1 metre high and the rower has to time the tidal surges so our heads dont get cracked open!!

We then completed the cruise around the island and then jumped off to explore the towns of Capri and Anacapri, which were beautiful. This was also another chance to sample more Gelati and Lemoncello!! On the boat ride home, Emily convined Mimo (the captain), to give us all a drive of the 300 passenger liner!! So, I can now say I sailed in Italy! After our driving, we wanted to go for a swim, but as beaches are so sparse here, it is not uncommon to have to pay just to swim on their beach!! In fact, the public beach was tiny.

Steph and Em in one of the alley's.

We had a nice dinner in town, including Tartufo and watched some of the Italy vs Germany game. Let me tell you the town went OFF when they won...fireworks, tooting cars, for hours afterwards! I thought Australian's were into their sport, but this was something else!!

On our last day, we drove the absolutely spectacular Amalfi coast, or should I say, Amalfi cliff-face! It was amazing how these tiny towns cling and survive on these cliffs! We drove through Positano, stopped at Amalfi for a cruise, lunch and swim and then had an afternoon (you guessed it!) Gelati at Ravello! This was one fantastic full-on trip and I was grateful to hit my bed that night!